Representation of real numbers in Genetic Algorithm
The authors want to use a binary genome which contains specific interpretation/mapping to a fixed precision real number. They could use one or more existing schemes, but these typically won't represent the exact precision and range of real numbers they want to use in the example problem. 

They use their own encoding scheme and explain it in the text for completeness. Any similarities between their scheme and other binary representations of real numbers are to be expected, and if you understand them, it will help understand what they are doing here too.

GAs don't have to use this sort of scheme for real numbers. Often they use standard floating-point representation as separate elements. But the authors want a binary code here to help teach some basic concepts, which is what they mean by "on the other hand, binary code is good for pedagogy"